Rating: 
Summary: Too good to be true
Review: Recently our book club enjoyed several books, all of which are pretty well known and sought out-so it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that we felt the same way that many others did. McCrae's THE CHILDREN'S CORNER took our breath away with its sordid and deeply probing look at infidelity, loss, love, and the human condition, and the novel PREP wowed us with its concise and straight forward writing and no nonsense way of pacing the plot just so. But THE RIGHT ADDRESS was our favorite. I couldn't put this book down. It is pretty sad to think that this is modeled after real life. If people are so catty at the top, then it is difficult to conceive that people aspire all their lives to live on Park Ave. I laughed out loud reading this book and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I thought the character depictions were quite interesting and from what I understand based off of real people. I think there are websites that unveil the real people that these characters are modeled from. A DEFINITE MUST READ!
Rating: 
Summary: Life among the drones
Review: The characters in this novel are somewhat like a collection of female Bertie Woosters. The main protagonist, Melanie, has married into money and has heaps of cash to use. People have a choice to either be trailblazers, leaders, or followers. Melanie's ambition is to be a member of high society, which initially makes her a follower. One management book calls it "entering the hut." There are certain rights of passage to become a member of a group.Melanie finds that she must deal with society snobs who are from "old families" and have gone to "the right schools." Many of them are shallow social drones, who go from one luncheon, dinner party, or benefit to the next. Their ambition is to be noticed by society photographers, and they compete to live at the right address. With the help of her butler, who delights in educating his "Eliza Doolittle," Melanie strives to fit in, and the snobs strive to keep her in her place as ex-trailer trash. The story starts out funny, but gets repetitious with a few too many "charity committees." Apparently Melanie never thought about using her money to be a trailblazer, i.e., starting her own club, charity, etc. People are also not astute about using available investigative services, and Melanie gets halfway through the plot before she thinks about using an internet search. I personally cannot fathom the competition to live at some address in the cramped confines of the concrete canyons of New York City. I suppose if you get on a high enough floor you would have what some people call a view, if they don't know any better. I suppose it would be OK to have an apartment in the city to have somewhere to squat while in town to attend the theater, but people with real money can afford to buy their own islands (and don't need to work in the city). I would point out to the authors that the softest fabric comes from the belly hair of muskoxen. It is in short supply and is incredibly expensive if you can find it. Cashmere varies in quality from upscale Scottish cashmere to run-of-the-mill Mongolian. Occasionally you can find fabrics such as alpaca or vicuna.
Rating: 
Summary: Save Your Money!!!
Review: The only reason that I continued to read this book past page 50 is because it was book club required reading! It is a book where you route for no one. Although I have no connection to the Upper, Upper, Upper East Side world where the book takes place, I find it unlikely that the diaglogue is accurate.
This book does not even qualify as a good beach read. Purchase this book at your own risk!
Rating:
Summary: The Wrong Book
Review: The Right Address concerns itself with the lives of the richest denizens of New York's 10021 zip code, which, if I remember correctly has the greatest number of millionaires of any zip code in America. This attempted send-up of the rich hopes to capitalize on the momentum of a very successful and witty book entitled The Nanny Diaries. However, the authors of The Right Address fail miserably. To begin with, the writing is sub-par. The authors seem somewhat unaware of the necessity of synonyms as they overuse expressions such as "creme de la creme" and "warming to his topic," adjectives such as "pencil-thin", the color "gunmetal" and the verb "thrilled." They make this mistake of giving characters similar names like the Goodchilds and the Goodyears. The novel is overpopulated with minor characters which makes one wonder if this is a roman-a-clef that one would only fully "get" if they knew the authors' social circle. Lastly, the authors resort to ridiculously convenient and highly improbable circumstances to resolve their plots. The Nanny Diaries balanced an intelligent, likable and funny narrator with her atrociously presumptuous and spoiled employer. On the other hand, there is no truly likable character in The Right Address. The cruel society ladies make fun of the main character, stewardess-turned-socialite Melanie Korn, but Melanie is pretty rude and spiteful herself. Shortly after Melanie is soundly humiliated in a newspaper article, one of her male high society detractors is murdered in what as revered to as a "gay porno sex slaughter." Melanie's reaction is she's "relieved" that attention to her social downfall has been eclipsed by a greater scandal. In another instance, they describe a tacky Hispanic woman as looking like "Miami threw up on her." It appears these authors have no idea how offensive they are. Even so, the kiss of death for this book is that it's not all that funny. Take the Publisher's Weekly review very seriously. This is a train wreck of a novel. I expect some will want to buy it because they will be unable to look away.
Rating:
Summary: THE MOST FUN, SIDE SPLITTING, HILARIOUS BOOK EVER!!!
Review: The Right Address is absolutely fabulous! I could not put it down. It was the most hilarious book I have ever read and I am still laughing about the characters in the book. A fantastic peek into the ridiculousness of New York Society. Great comic relief at the end of a long day! LOVED IT!
Rating: 
Summary: Move over Jackie Collins.......
Review: The Right Address is the right book to get for your fun summer read. I loved the the insiders look at the women , wifes and husbands,mistresses and household staff of theUpper East Side. Great details about fashion and decor. This book is FUN and it has a moral. I took it on vacation with me and finished it in three days- This is like evesdropping on some really good dish.
Rating:
Summary: Light,Easy Read--Not for those looking for intelligent novel
Review: The title of my review essentially sums up my feelings on this book. I was browsing the new books in fiction at my local borders one evening, when I came across this book. Upon reading the dust jacket, I decided that it sounded like a cute fun book to read while lounging in the sun in my backyard, or on the beach. Once I returned home, I logged onto amazon and was quite disappointed to see the negative reviews. However, those reviews only made me more eager to read the book, so I could judge for myself. After finishing the book, I must admit that this is not for those looking for a well-written, intellectual novel. I am a college student, reading this book for leisure over the summer. However, I was amazed at the number of typos and grammatical errors that I found in this book. The authors certainly need to find a better editor. In spite of the poor editing, I did find the characters to be quite easy to laugh at, for their often despicable actions. It is amazing how people can be so shallow. While there may have been a lack of characters to "root for," I found the characters in this book to be quite amusing. If one reads this book looking to laugh at the pathetic nature of these upper east side society people, you should not be disappointed. Overall, I would recommend this book. However, I recommend it only to those looking to read this type of book.
Rating:
Summary: Who are these people?
Review: These two authors have irresponsibly perpetuated a very negative stereotype with their Hispanic mistress. Sure, the stuffy butler is English and the tacky woman who's from the trailer park has a father in jail, so everyone is a stereotype, but the mistress character so infuriating I wished I could smack the authors' across the face. Of course I don't do that kind of thing, but that's how mad I was. Please don't buy it.
Rating:
Summary: HYSTERICAL RIDE
Review: This biting and insanely witty inside peek into the social scene of the upper crust absurdity of NYC had me glued. I could not get enough of the ridiculous tales and episodes, the bitchiness and the cruelty, and the unreal- yet so frighteningly real- capturing of the "scene".
For anyone who is in search for the perfect summer beach read (and ride!), you have to get on board. It's hysterical!
Rating:
Summary: The Walls Do Indeed Have Ears, Meow!
Review: This book gives positive proof that walls do indeed have ears! Fun book, fun story, I had a blast!
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